However, Munich's Green Party says the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks on Windows machines worldwide highlight how much more of a target Microsoft's OS is for hackers than Linux-based operating systems.

"As with many of the biggest attacks, the computers that were mainly hit were running the Windows operating system," the Green Party said in a statement.

In light of the volume of attacks on Windows, Dr Florian Roth, leader of the Green Party in Munich, said that abandoning a Linux-based OS makes little sense.

"It seems very strange to change from a stable and secure platform to a system that's attacked more often and more effectively," he said, adding, "it is particularly important that we keep the risk of such an attack as low as possible".

The Green Party is now calling on mayor Reiter to assess whether the danger to the municipality from malware would increase if the authority were to return to Windows. The city council says it will respond to the Greens' request in the coming weeks.